The NCTA has come out against a new proposal from the FCC that would impose tough restrictions on the way Internet service providers use customer information.
In short, the trade group says that once again, the regulatory agency isn't applying the same rules to cable providers as it is to large tech companies like Google (NASDAQ: GOOG).
"We are disappointed by [FCC Chairman Tom] Wheeler's apparent decision to propose prescriptive rules on ISPs that are at odds with the requirements imposed on other large online entities," said the National Cable Telecommunications Association statement.
"As the full commission considers further action, we hope that it will engage in a more sober assessment – one guided by facts and not demonstrably false claims and fears – to promote an approach that will ensure greater consistency in consumer privacy protection and fair competition among all Internet participants," the NCTA added.
Wheeler's proposal would require ISPs to get permission from customers before using their data.
"Simply by using the Internet, you have no choice but to share large amounts of personal information with your broadband provider," Wheeler said in blog entry on the Huffington Post.
"You have a right to know what information is being collected about you and how that information is being used," he added.
The FCC's five-member commission will vote on March 31 on whether to seek comment on the proposal.
The news comes two months after Wheeler also upset the NCTA by proposing major regulatory changes to leased pay-TV set-tops in an effort to, in his words, "unlock" them to third-party providers like Google.
For more:
- read this Huffington Post blog entry
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